Typically good Jack Lemmon performance enhances this uneven Hal Dresner script that strains too hard to be whimsical. Great supporting cast, with Charles Boyer, Myrna Loy and Peter Lawford standouts. Catherine Deneuve is impossibly beautiful in this, one of her few American films, and her melancholy is nicely balanced by Lemmon's trademark veneer of glibness masking a streak of cynicism. Lovely score by Marvin Hamlisch, with the title song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Very 60's in milieu and cinematography, but the two leads especially lend some unexpected poignancy to the plot shenanigans.
37 Reviews
The Frog and the Princess
claudio_carvalho6 August 2016
In New York, the newly-promoted in the Street Broker Howard Brubaker (Jack Lemmon) is invited by his boss Ted Gunther (Peter Lawford) to come to his fancy apartment. However, there is a party and the clumsy Howard feels uncomfortable and misplaced. Ted's wife Catherine Gunther (Catherine Deneuve) is amused with Howard and he invites her to have a drink in a club that Ted has suggested. Howard has a loveless marriage and his wife Phyllis (Sally Kellerman) does not pay attention to him. Catherine is unhappily married with Ted. When they meet the couple Grace (Myrna Loy) and Andre Greenlaw (Charles Boyer) that have been married for many years and are still happy, they decide to travel together to Paris to start a new life together. Will they leave their marriages behind?
"The April Fools" is a shallow, naive but funny romantic comedy. The plot is pleasant mostly because of the gorgeous Catherine Deneuve. It is hard to see what she liked in the clumsy character performed by Jack Lemmon. In the end, "The April Fools" is a silly romance that entertains. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Um Dia em Duas Vidas" ("One Day in Two Lives")
"The April Fools" is a shallow, naive but funny romantic comedy. The plot is pleasant mostly because of the gorgeous Catherine Deneuve. It is hard to see what she liked in the clumsy character performed by Jack Lemmon. In the end, "The April Fools" is a silly romance that entertains. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Um Dia em Duas Vidas" ("One Day in Two Lives")
One irresistible impulse
bkoganbing25 March 2018
Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve star in The April Fools about a pair who on
one irresistible fall in love and decide to go off to Paris. The problem is that
they're married to different people.
In Lemmon's case it's his boss's wife, his brand new boss Peter Lawford who is a free swinging hedonist who likes to throw parties at his Manhattan townhouse. It's there that Lemmon spots Catherine Deneuve looking quite bored at it all and he's struck by her beauty. The two go off where an older couple played by Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer kind of play matchmaker.
Lemmon is married to Sally Kellerman who has an expensive hobby, redecorating homes, her homes. And once she completes a project she gets Lemmon to sell. Gives new meaning to the term housewife. It's Lemmon who has to foot the bills for her because she doesn't work. And in Craig's wife we know about people who value their living space over all.
In the Citadel Film series book on the films of Myrna Loy she mentions that a lot of her footage with Charles Boyer was cut out. The two old timers stand out certainly and I wish there was more of them.
Jack Weston and Harvey Korman play a couple of fellow Connecticut commuters and they do have a memorable journey back home when they miss their stop and decide to get plastered along with Lemmon.
The April Fools has its moments but it's not the best of Jack Lemmon's comedies and won't make a top ten list for him.
In Lemmon's case it's his boss's wife, his brand new boss Peter Lawford who is a free swinging hedonist who likes to throw parties at his Manhattan townhouse. It's there that Lemmon spots Catherine Deneuve looking quite bored at it all and he's struck by her beauty. The two go off where an older couple played by Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer kind of play matchmaker.
Lemmon is married to Sally Kellerman who has an expensive hobby, redecorating homes, her homes. And once she completes a project she gets Lemmon to sell. Gives new meaning to the term housewife. It's Lemmon who has to foot the bills for her because she doesn't work. And in Craig's wife we know about people who value their living space over all.
In the Citadel Film series book on the films of Myrna Loy she mentions that a lot of her footage with Charles Boyer was cut out. The two old timers stand out certainly and I wish there was more of them.
Jack Weston and Harvey Korman play a couple of fellow Connecticut commuters and they do have a memorable journey back home when they miss their stop and decide to get plastered along with Lemmon.
The April Fools has its moments but it's not the best of Jack Lemmon's comedies and won't make a top ten list for him.
Likeable
nobita5 November 2000
The April Fools, starring Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve is a likeable, though not outstanding film. The film, somewhat bereft of a script, deals with Lemmon's character who arrives at his extremely trendy boss's apartment for a social gathering, which, to Lemmon's sheer amazement, is a fully-fledged swinging 60's hip shindig in classic over-40's type psychedelia. Deneuve plays the rather neglected wife of Lemmon's boss and of course the two meet at the party and do a terribly unconvincing job of falling in love. Deneuve, while pretty to look at, strolls through this film acting like she's hanging around for her agent to come up with something better. And in this film Lemmon just doesn't cut it as a romantic interest. The scene stealers are Lemmon's two drunken cohorts.
This film is far more interesting as a time piece, however. It's fun and engaging to watch this film and see how Hollywood was interested in projecting the late '60s high-class psychedelic world. The scene where Jack Lemmon takes Catherine Deneuve to the private club which is completely fitted out like the jungle and features sexy waitresses who slink around in various animal skins, with the only way to attract their attention is to shoot them on the bottom with a cap gun, really does make you marvel at the fact that clubs like this really did exist. Ah! Those were the days....
This film is far more interesting as a time piece, however. It's fun and engaging to watch this film and see how Hollywood was interested in projecting the late '60s high-class psychedelic world. The scene where Jack Lemmon takes Catherine Deneuve to the private club which is completely fitted out like the jungle and features sexy waitresses who slink around in various animal skins, with the only way to attract their attention is to shoot them on the bottom with a cap gun, really does make you marvel at the fact that clubs like this really did exist. Ah! Those were the days....
we will do foolish things
nomorefog4 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I had a relative take me to see this film on a Saturday morning when I was eleven years old at a cinema in my hometown of Sydney which doesn't exist any more (I'm referring to the cinema, not my hometown of Sydney). I found a video copy on ex-rental many years later and used to watch it often. 'The April Fools' is clumsy but charming, Maybe its even morally challenged by condoning adultery. But I don't care. it isn't terribly subtle or astute, about anything in particular. It does however, contain that inscrutable spark of life that manages to keep the audience's interest flickering for 100 minutes or so before they begin to drift off again.
The leading performers are Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve, the latter at the time an actress better known for her work in European cinema and considered to be above this kind of Hollywood silliness. But she is still in the movie and has a wonderful presence; I can't imagine anyone else playing the part. Deneuve stooped to conquer American movies for a time but she returned to Europe, eventually continuing an already distinguished career as if her attempt to conquer Hollywood had never happened. Ms Deneuve's English in this film isn't very good; she is however, playing a French visitor to American shores, so her hesitant delivery, seems natural as it is meant to be an aspect of her character. Both Lemmon and Deneuve are married, but unfortunately not to each other; both are not happy with their relationships and find solace in each other's company. They end up having an affair, and it is all very predictable, but in such a way that is completely delightful.
A title song sung by Dionne Warwick and colourful sixties costumes and sets and lots of disco dancing make the film an entertaining relic; the opening sequence where Lemmon, as an advertising executive, is the reluctant attendee of a strange and wild sixties party is very funny and the best part of the film. 'The April Fools' eventually runs out of steam due to a lack of comic ideas and becomes a timefiller because of a lack of attention to the script that resorts to slapstick at the expense of character. Deneuve leaves her husband and Lemmon decides to accompany her to Paris. They leave behind two disgruntled spouses, one Sally Kellerman and the other Peter Lawford who are perfectly set in their ways, extraordinarily boring people and not likely to miss them at all.
'The April Fools' is not the kind of film to get cerebral about. It's about people finding the chance to be happy and grabbing onto it with dear life. I can see now that as a youngster I was taken in by its sense of the time ie a 'youthful carfreeness' that was meant to be part of the charm of the sixties. I was also not weighed down by the critical facilities of an adult, and this is definitely not a critic's film. The April Fools gave me the impression that the sixties were a lot of fun with all of that dancing and music and carrying on with other people's partners, but somehow I doubt if that was the film's original intention, which remains a mystery now as much as it was when I first saw it as a child. Brainwave! Maybe it was just meant to be entertainment.
The leading performers are Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve, the latter at the time an actress better known for her work in European cinema and considered to be above this kind of Hollywood silliness. But she is still in the movie and has a wonderful presence; I can't imagine anyone else playing the part. Deneuve stooped to conquer American movies for a time but she returned to Europe, eventually continuing an already distinguished career as if her attempt to conquer Hollywood had never happened. Ms Deneuve's English in this film isn't very good; she is however, playing a French visitor to American shores, so her hesitant delivery, seems natural as it is meant to be an aspect of her character. Both Lemmon and Deneuve are married, but unfortunately not to each other; both are not happy with their relationships and find solace in each other's company. They end up having an affair, and it is all very predictable, but in such a way that is completely delightful.
A title song sung by Dionne Warwick and colourful sixties costumes and sets and lots of disco dancing make the film an entertaining relic; the opening sequence where Lemmon, as an advertising executive, is the reluctant attendee of a strange and wild sixties party is very funny and the best part of the film. 'The April Fools' eventually runs out of steam due to a lack of comic ideas and becomes a timefiller because of a lack of attention to the script that resorts to slapstick at the expense of character. Deneuve leaves her husband and Lemmon decides to accompany her to Paris. They leave behind two disgruntled spouses, one Sally Kellerman and the other Peter Lawford who are perfectly set in their ways, extraordinarily boring people and not likely to miss them at all.
'The April Fools' is not the kind of film to get cerebral about. It's about people finding the chance to be happy and grabbing onto it with dear life. I can see now that as a youngster I was taken in by its sense of the time ie a 'youthful carfreeness' that was meant to be part of the charm of the sixties. I was also not weighed down by the critical facilities of an adult, and this is definitely not a critic's film. The April Fools gave me the impression that the sixties were a lot of fun with all of that dancing and music and carrying on with other people's partners, but somehow I doubt if that was the film's original intention, which remains a mystery now as much as it was when I first saw it as a child. Brainwave! Maybe it was just meant to be entertainment.
likable rom-com with great actors
SnoopyStyle2 August 2013
Wall Street broker Howard Brubaker (Jack Lemmon) is in a stifling marriage to Phyllis (Sally Kellerman). After getting promoted, he gets invited to a fancy party at his boss Ted Gunther (Peter Lawford)'s high class apartment. He is terribly awkward and then he meets Ted's wife Catherine (Catherine Deneuve). The two unhappily married people find comfort with each other and decide to run away to Paris.
Jack Lemmon is a straight laced businessman. Catherine Deneuve is a tired rich wife in a loveless marriage. The movie showcases them facing a series of silly '60s situations as an earnest naive man trying to impress lovely Catherine Deneuve who can't help but fall for him. The husband Peter Lawford desperately clinging to Deneuve has some funny moments. Sally Kellerman is more annoying than anything. She never listens to Jack Lemmon and in turn, the audience. It seems there's never any point in Jack Lemmon trying to explain anything to her. All in all, the two leads are what sells this movie. There's nothing great about the writing but maybe a couple of good laughs.
Jack Lemmon is a straight laced businessman. Catherine Deneuve is a tired rich wife in a loveless marriage. The movie showcases them facing a series of silly '60s situations as an earnest naive man trying to impress lovely Catherine Deneuve who can't help but fall for him. The husband Peter Lawford desperately clinging to Deneuve has some funny moments. Sally Kellerman is more annoying than anything. She never listens to Jack Lemmon and in turn, the audience. It seems there's never any point in Jack Lemmon trying to explain anything to her. All in all, the two leads are what sells this movie. There's nothing great about the writing but maybe a couple of good laughs.
Guilty Pleasure from 1969!
shepardjessica17 July 2004
This comic love fable has nothing really new to say, but Catherine Deneuve is beautiful as always and there are fun moments. Jack Lemmon had already beaten this character into the ground in the past, and it does become wearisome to watch him. Jack Warden and Harvey Korman are hilarious as drunken commuter train buddies of Lemmon and Peter Lawford is believable for the ONLY time as Deneuve's shallow, rich husband.
Stuart Rosenberg was not really cut out to direct this kind of story, but does his best. Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy have presence as the older couple (still happy) after all these years. a 6 out of 10. Best performance = Jack Weston.
Stuart Rosenberg was not really cut out to direct this kind of story, but does his best. Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy have presence as the older couple (still happy) after all these years. a 6 out of 10. Best performance = Jack Weston.
Old-fashioned romance attempts to trump chic, modern cynicism
moonspinner557 February 2016
Upwardly mobile investment banker, married to a shallow mannequin out in the suburbs, picks up a sophisticated Parisian beauty at his boss's mod party in New York City, unaware she's the boss's wife. Forgotten star-vehicle for Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve (who replaced an unavailable Shirley MacLaine) is an instantly-dated piece of absurdist romantic comedy in the modern idiom circa 1969. Most of the secondary characters are deadpan eccentrics who take turns staring at the strait-laced leads as if they're the ones who are odd, while the busy camera tries to catch everything about the city that is weird-for-a-laugh (often straining to do so). Lemmon is still doing his nervous schnook from "The Apartment" nine years earlier, only this time with dark brown hair dye. He never clicks with Deneuve, who never clicks with her unhappily married character. Director Stuart Rosenberg tries to keep it loose, but he falls into the general trap of the scenario, that of chic deadheads working too hard at having a good time. ** from ****
One of my Favorites
wdbrown26 October 2005
I have always loved this movie, and, in many ways, relate to the Howard Brubaker character. Is it a great movie? Absolutely not. But it is romantic, humorous, and touching in many ways. This was my first glimpse of Catherine Deneuve outside of a pilfered Playboy, and she was nearly enough to make me forget Diana Rigg. I have always thought that Jack Lemmon was great, and being an old movie buff, I was very happy to see Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer.
In many ways this film can be considered silly. Boyer's chasing of Lemmon, the total detachment of Sally Kellerman's character, the locker room style boasting of Brubaker's friends, and finally the hasty courtship and decision to flee made by Lemmon and Deneuve. But, somehow it works. The touching love of Boyer and Loy is the perfect counterpoint to the blossoming relationship of Lemmon and Deneuve. And the similar ways in which Catherine and Howard are objectified by their respective spouses (Brubaker's wife considers him a source of funding for her projects while Guenther thinks of his wife as his greatest acquisition) insures fertile ground for anything resembling true warmth and emotion.
Don't think of this as some throwaway romantic comedy. Think of this, instead, as an Everyman's Romantic Fantasy. In reality we think not only of sex at the drop of a hat (not present in this movie), but also of meeting a beautiful woman who immediately recognizes the real man within and is willing to drop all for the love of that man.
I love this movie.
I remember Rex Reed saying that this was a horrible mess and that Catherine Deneuve should never make anything without English subtitles. Well, Deneuve has gone on to become one of the world's respected actresses in any language, and Reed's greatest claim to fame was appearing in Myra Breckinridge.
Don't be afraid to give this movie a chance.
In many ways this film can be considered silly. Boyer's chasing of Lemmon, the total detachment of Sally Kellerman's character, the locker room style boasting of Brubaker's friends, and finally the hasty courtship and decision to flee made by Lemmon and Deneuve. But, somehow it works. The touching love of Boyer and Loy is the perfect counterpoint to the blossoming relationship of Lemmon and Deneuve. And the similar ways in which Catherine and Howard are objectified by their respective spouses (Brubaker's wife considers him a source of funding for her projects while Guenther thinks of his wife as his greatest acquisition) insures fertile ground for anything resembling true warmth and emotion.
Don't think of this as some throwaway romantic comedy. Think of this, instead, as an Everyman's Romantic Fantasy. In reality we think not only of sex at the drop of a hat (not present in this movie), but also of meeting a beautiful woman who immediately recognizes the real man within and is willing to drop all for the love of that man.
I love this movie.
I remember Rex Reed saying that this was a horrible mess and that Catherine Deneuve should never make anything without English subtitles. Well, Deneuve has gone on to become one of the world's respected actresses in any language, and Reed's greatest claim to fame was appearing in Myra Breckinridge.
Don't be afraid to give this movie a chance.
Only In New York, In the Late 1960s
DeanNYC1 April 2021
On one hand, "The April Fools" plays as a relic of an era gone by. And now, that's how it should be viewed. Gone are the days when a Wall Street player (Peter Lawford) would throw a party for his staff at his well appointed NYC apartment, filled with crazed and debauched characters out for their sexual conquests.
On the other hand, "The April Fools" suggests that this fast and furious lifestyle might not fit everyone and that maybe that's okay. Such was the case of one of Lawford's employees, played by the incomparable Jack Lemmon. He wanders into the soiree to sign the paperwork on his promotion, hates the scene, but meets a kindred spirit (Catherine Deneuve) who feels exactly the same. They ditch the coffee table carnal carnage for their own adventure.
Of course, they're both married, unhappily, and, as it turns out, she is the boss' wife. They both decide to leave their spouses and head to her home in France. Wild, ridiculous and sometimes humorous complications abound.
Sally Kellerman plays Lemmon's wife and its difficult to understand his unhappiness with that relationship (short of a son who hates and/or resents him and an expensive hobby she has, made more affordable because of his work upgrade). Kellerman more than resembles Deneuve here, even in housewife drag, so the dream of leaving New York for Paris must have made the switch that much more attractive.
And Jack gets some "help" with his pursuit from his lawyer pal played by Jack Weston and most especially his lecherous coworker Harvey Korman, who steals every scene he's in, a rare thing to do in a Lemmon vehicle if your name isn't Matthau!
Lots of location shots that capture the feel and flavor of The City the year the Jets and Mets both won their first championships. And that Burt Bacharach/Hal David title song performed by Dionne Warwick makes the whole thing a perfect time capsule, suitable to bury under the Unisphere in the Flushing Meadow Park World's Fairgrounds!
Part comedy, part drama, part farce, sometimes all in the same scene, "The April Fools" is held together by another genuine Jack Lemmon performance and, no matter what, those are always worthwhile.
On the other hand, "The April Fools" suggests that this fast and furious lifestyle might not fit everyone and that maybe that's okay. Such was the case of one of Lawford's employees, played by the incomparable Jack Lemmon. He wanders into the soiree to sign the paperwork on his promotion, hates the scene, but meets a kindred spirit (Catherine Deneuve) who feels exactly the same. They ditch the coffee table carnal carnage for their own adventure.
Of course, they're both married, unhappily, and, as it turns out, she is the boss' wife. They both decide to leave their spouses and head to her home in France. Wild, ridiculous and sometimes humorous complications abound.
Sally Kellerman plays Lemmon's wife and its difficult to understand his unhappiness with that relationship (short of a son who hates and/or resents him and an expensive hobby she has, made more affordable because of his work upgrade). Kellerman more than resembles Deneuve here, even in housewife drag, so the dream of leaving New York for Paris must have made the switch that much more attractive.
And Jack gets some "help" with his pursuit from his lawyer pal played by Jack Weston and most especially his lecherous coworker Harvey Korman, who steals every scene he's in, a rare thing to do in a Lemmon vehicle if your name isn't Matthau!
Lots of location shots that capture the feel and flavor of The City the year the Jets and Mets both won their first championships. And that Burt Bacharach/Hal David title song performed by Dionne Warwick makes the whole thing a perfect time capsule, suitable to bury under the Unisphere in the Flushing Meadow Park World's Fairgrounds!
Part comedy, part drama, part farce, sometimes all in the same scene, "The April Fools" is held together by another genuine Jack Lemmon performance and, no matter what, those are always worthwhile.
Bizarre 'romance'
HotToastyRag3 August 2023
The April Fools was one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. I lost track of how many times I asked the television set, "What's wrong with these people?" only to have the answer as, "It's the sixties." If you don't long for the days of blue feather boas, overdone eye makeup, ratted out ridiculous hairdos, and "swingers", you're not going to like this movie.
Jack Lemmon gets a promotion, but instead of an interview at his new boss's house, he finds himself walking into a swinging party. He doesn't fit in, because he's a square-the worst thing in the world to be-but he finally gets into the spirit of things and picks up a beautiful woman, Catherine Denueve. He's married to Sally Kellerman and has a young son, but he decides to play around anyway. What he doesn't know is Catherine is also married, to Peter Lawford, his new boss!
Jack and Catherine spend the first several scenes of the movie dancing in various clubs, not getting to know each other, then miraculously falling in love. They meet an older couple, Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer, and in another sequence of bizarre scenes involving Tarot cards, fencing, and a swimming pool, they decide that the only way to be happy is to leave their spouses and run off to Paris together.
This movie makes no sense, and it isn't very politically correct anymore. Most of the women, besides Catherine, are portrayed as interchangeable, marriage is something dreaded by most of the men in the film, and many of the gags in the last portion of the movie deal with making fun of an alcoholic. The two leads have absolutely no chemistry together, and the script doesn't give the audience any reason to root for them. I'll tell you the only good joke from the movie so you don't have to waste your time: Charles Boyer asks after Jack Lemmon's profession. "I'm on the street," Jack answers, meaning Wall Street. Charles doesn't get the reference and says, "I'm sorry. You'll find something soon."
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The opening scenes at the party, nightclub, and discotheque are filmed with a combination of swirling camera angles, zooms without warning, and strobe lights.; and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
Jack Lemmon gets a promotion, but instead of an interview at his new boss's house, he finds himself walking into a swinging party. He doesn't fit in, because he's a square-the worst thing in the world to be-but he finally gets into the spirit of things and picks up a beautiful woman, Catherine Denueve. He's married to Sally Kellerman and has a young son, but he decides to play around anyway. What he doesn't know is Catherine is also married, to Peter Lawford, his new boss!
Jack and Catherine spend the first several scenes of the movie dancing in various clubs, not getting to know each other, then miraculously falling in love. They meet an older couple, Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer, and in another sequence of bizarre scenes involving Tarot cards, fencing, and a swimming pool, they decide that the only way to be happy is to leave their spouses and run off to Paris together.
This movie makes no sense, and it isn't very politically correct anymore. Most of the women, besides Catherine, are portrayed as interchangeable, marriage is something dreaded by most of the men in the film, and many of the gags in the last portion of the movie deal with making fun of an alcoholic. The two leads have absolutely no chemistry together, and the script doesn't give the audience any reason to root for them. I'll tell you the only good joke from the movie so you don't have to waste your time: Charles Boyer asks after Jack Lemmon's profession. "I'm on the street," Jack answers, meaning Wall Street. Charles doesn't get the reference and says, "I'm sorry. You'll find something soon."
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The opening scenes at the party, nightclub, and discotheque are filmed with a combination of swirling camera angles, zooms without warning, and strobe lights.; and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
WAY underrated
theloniouscoltrane10 July 2002
Worth it just for the look at the sixties beautiful people. But on top of that, excellent love story coupled with hilarious comedy. Plus it has one of our last looks at the sexiest actress of all time - Myrna Loy. This should be hailed as a classic. Shame on the stupid critics.
Entertaining, but doesn't quite click
rudy641 April 2021
Jack Lemmon, as always, plays his part well, but the sad part here is that I felt no real chemistry between Lemmon and Deneuve. She seems distant throughout, even aloof. Little spark is seen here, unlike Lemmon's other films with Shirley MacLaine, for instance. The supporting cast does a great job--Peter Lawford's boorish self-absorption and Sally Kellerman's total detachment from Lemmon as a spouse are top notch. And the drunken commuter train ride home is hilarious, if a bit out of place. The plot could also have used a bit of sharpening here--the premise of what seems to be roughly a 48 hour fling turning into two people leaving their marriages is kind of shaky, although the ending of the film does leave us with a bit of a question mark in terms of how it will all play out.
I'll watch it again for sure, but it does leave me feeling a bit empty when it's all said and done. It may not have taken much to flesh this out a bit more and make it more satisfying, including chemistry between the two leads.
I'll watch it again for sure, but it does leave me feeling a bit empty when it's all said and done. It may not have taken much to flesh this out a bit more and make it more satisfying, including chemistry between the two leads.
Critics got it wrong!
bob4kate7 November 2002
Critics often get it wrong and this movie is proof of that. If you watch this movie in the cold and analytical way that critics often do you will see its countless flaws. But if you do this you will also miss its warmth,charm the masterly performances of its cast and a super sixties Bacharach theme song. I urge people to see it and make up their own mind. My guess is you won't fail to be touched.
At least his boss wasn't after his apartment.
mark.waltz20 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This might as well have been a sequel to that 1960 oscar-winning classic directed by Billy Wilder where Jack Lemmon played a frustrated insurance company employee who is manipulated into lending out his apartment for various trists that other executives are having. He shows up at a party being given by boss Peter Lawford and meets a beautiful Catherine Deneuve. They begin spending time together, first at a wild "Sweet Charity" like nightclub that has to be seen to be believed, and later in various parts of Manhattan including a gorgeous spring day in Central Park.
That's where you hear the pretty but not really memorable Dionne Warwick / Burt Bacharach song, having earlier been given a rendition of "Say a Little Prayer" by one of the guests at the party. Deneuve turns out to be Lawford's wife, unhappily neglected (and what a fool he is for doing that), while Lemmon feels taken for granted by his family which includes beautiful wife Sally Kellerman. She really doesn't take him for granted. They just have such different schedules that makes it appear that way.
There's also Jack Weston as Lemmon's pal, Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy as an elegant older couple dispensing marital advice, and a croaking frog who is a metaphor for how Lemmon feels about himself. That's why he makes the decision to go with Deneuve to Paris and quits his job, but boss Lawford is completely unaware when his wife says she's going there as well that she's going to be with Lemmon. Harvey Korman also has a small role as does Melinda Dillon whom I believe was the swinging secretary who gives away her character by wearing white painted on eye shadow, showing no shame in making a pass at Lemmon on her first day assigned to him.
Certainly not a great film, it is an extremely entertaining film which is why I give it a higher rating than it would have deserved otherwise. That wild and wacky 60's sense of style is present in the art direction and costume design, and you really feel like you've gone back in a time capsule by watching this. It's ironic that Shirley MacLaine apparently was offered the lead female role, but she would have been completely wrong with what ends up on screen and it really would have pointed out the similarities to "The Apartment".
That's where you hear the pretty but not really memorable Dionne Warwick / Burt Bacharach song, having earlier been given a rendition of "Say a Little Prayer" by one of the guests at the party. Deneuve turns out to be Lawford's wife, unhappily neglected (and what a fool he is for doing that), while Lemmon feels taken for granted by his family which includes beautiful wife Sally Kellerman. She really doesn't take him for granted. They just have such different schedules that makes it appear that way.
There's also Jack Weston as Lemmon's pal, Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy as an elegant older couple dispensing marital advice, and a croaking frog who is a metaphor for how Lemmon feels about himself. That's why he makes the decision to go with Deneuve to Paris and quits his job, but boss Lawford is completely unaware when his wife says she's going there as well that she's going to be with Lemmon. Harvey Korman also has a small role as does Melinda Dillon whom I believe was the swinging secretary who gives away her character by wearing white painted on eye shadow, showing no shame in making a pass at Lemmon on her first day assigned to him.
Certainly not a great film, it is an extremely entertaining film which is why I give it a higher rating than it would have deserved otherwise. That wild and wacky 60's sense of style is present in the art direction and costume design, and you really feel like you've gone back in a time capsule by watching this. It's ironic that Shirley MacLaine apparently was offered the lead female role, but she would have been completely wrong with what ends up on screen and it really would have pointed out the similarities to "The Apartment".
The April Fools
BandSAboutMovies1 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I think my new obsession is watching movies where Jack Lemmon is flummoxed by modern love. Here, he's Howard Brubaker, a man married to Phyllis (Sally Kellerman), who cares more about money, real estate and status than love. The person he falls for is Catherine (Catherine Deneuve) whose uncaring and philandering mate is Howard's boss, Ted Gunther (Peter Lawford). When they meet Grace and Andre Greenlaw (Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer), they start to believe that maybe they could be happily married, just like the Greenlaws, if they can only run away and start again.
Deneuve's part was originally intended for Shirley MacLaine, which would have reunited the stars of The Apartment. Knowing that makes me realize that that casting would have truly improved this, as with as stunning as Deneuve is, it makes it seem as if the affair is simply over attraction and not the idea that the two could be life partners, not just attracted to each other - no insult to MacLaine, who is also quite fetching. I hope you understand my point.
Maybe after The Apartment I just see Lemmon and MacLaine as the perfect couple.
Director Stuart Rosenberg also made Cool Hand Luke and The Amityville Horror, while writer Hal Dresener wrote Sssssss, The Eiger Sanction and Zorro: The Gay Blade. Dionne Warwick sang the title song, while one of her biggest hits, "I Say a Little Prayer," is sung at a party in the film by Susan Barrett. The b-side of that single? "Theme from Valley of the Dolls."
Deneuve's part was originally intended for Shirley MacLaine, which would have reunited the stars of The Apartment. Knowing that makes me realize that that casting would have truly improved this, as with as stunning as Deneuve is, it makes it seem as if the affair is simply over attraction and not the idea that the two could be life partners, not just attracted to each other - no insult to MacLaine, who is also quite fetching. I hope you understand my point.
Maybe after The Apartment I just see Lemmon and MacLaine as the perfect couple.
Director Stuart Rosenberg also made Cool Hand Luke and The Amityville Horror, while writer Hal Dresener wrote Sssssss, The Eiger Sanction and Zorro: The Gay Blade. Dionne Warwick sang the title song, while one of her biggest hits, "I Say a Little Prayer," is sung at a party in the film by Susan Barrett. The b-side of that single? "Theme from Valley of the Dolls."
The most beautiful woman in the world
montereypop974 March 2012
I fell in love with Catherine Deneuve as a result of this movie. had never seen or heard about her before I saw it.
Very shallow I know, But I was 16 when I first saw this. The movie was well acted and is a pretty good send up of the the modern man and state of marriage, even back then. Jack Lemon plays a very good neurotic amoral business man searching for more meaning to his life, the constant American existential dilemma. Like all sixties movies, it seems to promote a consequence free way out. That in itself is worth the watching, just to make you think.
Catherine is absolutely stunning and steals every scene she is in. How many of us don't want to just take off?
Very shallow I know, But I was 16 when I first saw this. The movie was well acted and is a pretty good send up of the the modern man and state of marriage, even back then. Jack Lemon plays a very good neurotic amoral business man searching for more meaning to his life, the constant American existential dilemma. Like all sixties movies, it seems to promote a consequence free way out. That in itself is worth the watching, just to make you think.
Catherine is absolutely stunning and steals every scene she is in. How many of us don't want to just take off?
A 1960s New York romance as good as "Breakfast At Tiffany's"
Brimac9814 November 1999
As romantic comedies go,"The April Fools" is one of the undiscovered treasures of the 1960s, comparable to the vanguard of all New York romantic comedies "Breakfast At Tiffany's". This film is far more simplistic (too simplistic it seems for many reviewers in 1969) and perhaps because of this it will strike more of a chord with today's audiences weary of recent ponderous comedies.
Perhaps what sets this movie apart from the others is that it captures - totally - the fashionable corporate high life in the summer of 1969: at the time, this was probably seen as 'production values' added by the producers to give the film a certain style....the producer in this case was Jack Lemmon himself (Jalem Productions). What the film makers have done here is something many have tried in recent years and few have succeeded -- to those who consider "Valley Of The Dolls" as the height of 60s style should brace themselves for the eye-popping title sequence set during a swinging high fashion party thrown by Peter Lawford (some TV prints show this entire section of the movie in 'letterbox' format--if you're lucky enough to see it this way, you're in for a rare treat). Other sequences that capture the era include one set at a 'safari club' ("Bwana want a taxi?") and later in a discotheque (in a scene reminiscent of the rave party sequences from a film made 30 years later - "Go") where Jack Lemmon as Howard Brubaker is reduced to a jived up-jived out wreck in the midst of frenetic dancers and a far-too-psychedelic sound and light show. All are beautifully staged and never detract from the basic romantic story. All the performers are at the height of their powers -- Jack Lemmon giving it all he's got, Catherine Deneuve never more beautiful, Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy having fun with their roles, and a great supporting cast including hilarious performances by Kenneth Mars, Melinda Dillon, and Harvey Korman. Two performances though deserve special mention -- the magnificent Jack Weston as Potter, Brubaker's lawyer and best friend who is swept up in the romance (alcoholic or otherwise) of the moment, and Peter Lawford in his greatest performance as the ultimate suave swinger Gunther ("Gunther's the name, buy you a drink?")....but was it all acting? Could you or I wink like that?!
A great first time musical score by Marvin Hamlisch and a memorable title song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by Dionne Warwick (and featuring a haunting french horn solo that is featured through the entire film). Many would see the 'princess and the frog' analogy as being too corny these days, but in "The April Fools" it is the basis of a delightful romance and a very funny comedy, which I would heartily recommend to all.
Perhaps what sets this movie apart from the others is that it captures - totally - the fashionable corporate high life in the summer of 1969: at the time, this was probably seen as 'production values' added by the producers to give the film a certain style....the producer in this case was Jack Lemmon himself (Jalem Productions). What the film makers have done here is something many have tried in recent years and few have succeeded -- to those who consider "Valley Of The Dolls" as the height of 60s style should brace themselves for the eye-popping title sequence set during a swinging high fashion party thrown by Peter Lawford (some TV prints show this entire section of the movie in 'letterbox' format--if you're lucky enough to see it this way, you're in for a rare treat). Other sequences that capture the era include one set at a 'safari club' ("Bwana want a taxi?") and later in a discotheque (in a scene reminiscent of the rave party sequences from a film made 30 years later - "Go") where Jack Lemmon as Howard Brubaker is reduced to a jived up-jived out wreck in the midst of frenetic dancers and a far-too-psychedelic sound and light show. All are beautifully staged and never detract from the basic romantic story. All the performers are at the height of their powers -- Jack Lemmon giving it all he's got, Catherine Deneuve never more beautiful, Charles Boyer and Myrna Loy having fun with their roles, and a great supporting cast including hilarious performances by Kenneth Mars, Melinda Dillon, and Harvey Korman. Two performances though deserve special mention -- the magnificent Jack Weston as Potter, Brubaker's lawyer and best friend who is swept up in the romance (alcoholic or otherwise) of the moment, and Peter Lawford in his greatest performance as the ultimate suave swinger Gunther ("Gunther's the name, buy you a drink?")....but was it all acting? Could you or I wink like that?!
A great first time musical score by Marvin Hamlisch and a memorable title song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by Dionne Warwick (and featuring a haunting french horn solo that is featured through the entire film). Many would see the 'princess and the frog' analogy as being too corny these days, but in "The April Fools" it is the basis of a delightful romance and a very funny comedy, which I would heartily recommend to all.
Charming (If Uneven) Confection With a Cast That Doesn't Quit
Doghouse-630 July 2005
Whatever praise - and criticism - has been directed at this film in other comments here is pretty much right on. But the elements considered by some as flaws need not necessarily be bothersome; they aren't to me. That all of the supporting characters are rather broadly drawn caricatures works, I think, because it leaves Lemmon and Deneuve, at the heart of the story, the only seemingly real people in it, one might say. Isn't that the way love is sometimes? Maybe everyone around you thinks you're nuts (hence the title?), but to the smitten couple, the exact opposite seems the case.
What we really have here is the late-60s equivalent of screwball romantic comedy. As such, it's full of colorful characters and unlikely situations, with a good dose of social satire thrown in - with marriage, in particular, under the microscope. We have high-powered executive Lawford and Deneuve, his neglected trophy wife; put-upon suburbanite Lemmon and Kellerman, his self-absorbed, psychobabble-spouting spouse; Weston trying to be the assertive "man of the house" with his bickering "Mimsy;" Loy and Boyer as the long-married and still very much in love eccentrics. But THE APRIL FOOLS isn't about marriage, of course; it's about love.
If you can find this picture, which is pretty hard to do as of this writing, it will reward with wonderful moments, delivered by a varied cast which pretty much represents the spectrum of players: the just-emerging Kellerman, Dillon and Mars; Lemmon, Lawford and Weston in their prime and old pros Boyer and Loy. Deneuve finds herself in an unfamiliar milieu here, but with her character that works in her favor. It's unexpected - and thoroughly amusing - when she suddenly lashes out at Mars: "Leesen, if you toush me agayne, I'll geev you a sock-in-the-eye!"
My favorite moment: Lemmon's awkward attempt to be suave and "come on" to a sexy blond at Lawford's swanky party. The payoff is priceless.
What we really have here is the late-60s equivalent of screwball romantic comedy. As such, it's full of colorful characters and unlikely situations, with a good dose of social satire thrown in - with marriage, in particular, under the microscope. We have high-powered executive Lawford and Deneuve, his neglected trophy wife; put-upon suburbanite Lemmon and Kellerman, his self-absorbed, psychobabble-spouting spouse; Weston trying to be the assertive "man of the house" with his bickering "Mimsy;" Loy and Boyer as the long-married and still very much in love eccentrics. But THE APRIL FOOLS isn't about marriage, of course; it's about love.
If you can find this picture, which is pretty hard to do as of this writing, it will reward with wonderful moments, delivered by a varied cast which pretty much represents the spectrum of players: the just-emerging Kellerman, Dillon and Mars; Lemmon, Lawford and Weston in their prime and old pros Boyer and Loy. Deneuve finds herself in an unfamiliar milieu here, but with her character that works in her favor. It's unexpected - and thoroughly amusing - when she suddenly lashes out at Mars: "Leesen, if you toush me agayne, I'll geev you a sock-in-the-eye!"
My favorite moment: Lemmon's awkward attempt to be suave and "come on" to a sexy blond at Lawford's swanky party. The payoff is priceless.
That Rare and Amazing Nostalgia Captured
erick-eck6811 September 2019
The colors, the actors, the silliness, the music, the style, the romance and the entire nostalgic atmosphere. I've loved this film from the first time I saw it. Only a handful of other films capture this level of romantic nostalgia in my opinion. Watch it, and watch it again. Personally, I wish I had been young during this period of time.
Nice romantic comedy!
Chris-14729 August 2001
Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve make a dream-couple in this drama/comedy movie. Catherine is sick and tired of her adulterous husband and meets Jack at a party. They spend some time together and when Jack realizes his wife loves redecorating the house ten times more than she loves him, he decides to elope with Catherine. A very nice romantic comedy, not much seen and definitely underrated. By the way, if you're into 60s psychedelic parties and fashion, be sure to check this one out!
A sweet, haunting and unique love story with two great actors.
managementinc15 August 2001
I saw this film years and years ago, but was listening to a "best of"
CD the other day and heard Dionne Warwick singing the title tune
of "The April Fools" - I remembered how much I loved this film. The
truth to the performances of Jack Lemmon and Catherine
Deneuvre, along with great performances from Peter Lawford and
Sally Kellerman, makes this film a classic of the late sixties in the
vein of Breakfast At Tiffanys. There is something pure, haunting
and deeply bittersweet about this movie - well worth a viewing.
CD the other day and heard Dionne Warwick singing the title tune
of "The April Fools" - I remembered how much I loved this film. The
truth to the performances of Jack Lemmon and Catherine
Deneuvre, along with great performances from Peter Lawford and
Sally Kellerman, makes this film a classic of the late sixties in the
vein of Breakfast At Tiffanys. There is something pure, haunting
and deeply bittersweet about this movie - well worth a viewing.
I Couldn't Agree More
dudekabob5 July 2006
As I recall from seeing "The April Fools" back in the late '60s-early '70s, this film is worth seeing just for a brilliant performance by Sally Kellerman in the role of Howard Brubaker's long-suffering, and forever home-decorating wife, who springs to life fully-formed three decades before the first house renovation and make-over TV series ever aired. It's true that there's a lot of stylish fun in this film, but there's also a sense of regret and a longing for something that never quite worked out the way it should have for the Jack Lemmon character that gives "The April Fools" some real poignancy. But then, I've never found melancholy to be a particularly bad thing. The script is first rate, as are the cinematography, set-decoration and musical score by Burt Bacharach. If you can locate a copy of this gem, I highly recommend it.
Touching Romance- Sadly Underrated
ken731013 August 2009
I saw this movie when I was a young teenager & was so smitten with it that I went back to the theaters playing it & paid about ten separate admissions to sit through multiple viewings. I became a big Jack Lemmon fan after this film. He was in top form here. I sort of identified with his character since I was at that age where I felt a bit awkward & out of place. Brubaker at the party and at the disco was certainly that. Deneuve was so beautiful and to think she could be interested in the "frog" Brubaker captivated me. The supporting actors do a nice job & the music is great, creating a haunting, romantic mood. I have the title song on my Ipod. There were very few critics that liked the film when it debuted. I remember the old Cue Magazine calling it an "enchanting surprise package" but most critics dismissed it as a failure. I bought the VHS tape when it came out but I want to get a widescreen version. Does anyone know if there is such a version? I will always love this film.
Lemmon plays a square peg in a round hole
JOHNBATES-110 September 2003
You have to watch this one a few times to get its rhythm. If you don't, you'll miss some gems. Jack Lemmon plays a man who finds himself disconnected from the world. No one wants to listen to him his wife, son, boss, lawyer friend, even the family dog.
The movie lacks punch. And one reason is the real absence of romantic chemistry between Lemmon and Deneuve. Jack Lemmon, as an actor, needs a lively romantic love interest to better match his manic style. Deneuve comes off as beautiful, wooden and lethargic. But Lemmon's acting power is undeniable. So again we're treated to the brilliant, sad clown.
Harvey Korman and Jack Weston serve up a hilarious train ride and domestic scene. Charles Boyer's energy and wonderful voice entertain. Sally Kellerman does well epitomizing the Lemmon character's plight.
It's a late Sixties period piece and manages to capture some of that.
The movie lacks punch. And one reason is the real absence of romantic chemistry between Lemmon and Deneuve. Jack Lemmon, as an actor, needs a lively romantic love interest to better match his manic style. Deneuve comes off as beautiful, wooden and lethargic. But Lemmon's acting power is undeniable. So again we're treated to the brilliant, sad clown.
Harvey Korman and Jack Weston serve up a hilarious train ride and domestic scene. Charles Boyer's energy and wonderful voice entertain. Sally Kellerman does well epitomizing the Lemmon character's plight.
It's a late Sixties period piece and manages to capture some of that.
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